IT HAS been a year for the record books with election and referendum results that have shaken the world almost as much as the catastrophic earthquakes that erupted on fault-lines around the globe
NUCLEAR THREAT
IN January, as winter snowfalls broke records on the east coast of the US and claimed the lives of 49 people, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and followed that with a fifth in September, setting alarm bells ringing in the west and South Korea.
While it is thought that North Korea has not yet mastered the technology for a hydrogen bomb, the threat has been great enough for Seoul and Washington to agree to deploy the THAAD advanced missile defence system in South Korea.
EARTHQUAKE HORROR
ON February 6, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit southern Taiwan killing at least 117 people and leaving hundreds injured, with most of the casualties caused by the collapse of the Wei-Guan Golden Dragon high-rise tower in Tainan.
Later in the year, central Italy was hit by three strong earthquakes in just three months. The quake, in August, killed almost 300 people and destroyed buildings dating back to medieval times. Two more quakes hit the devastated region in October.
New Zealand suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in November. It was followed by a tsunami which claimed two lives and caused billions of pounds worth of damage.
This month, at least 100 people were killed and 136 seriously injured when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Aceh province on the island of Sumatra.
COLOMBIA PEACE DEAL
THE beginning of the year looked promising for Colombia with a breakthrough in peace talks between Farc guerrilla fighters and the government. The 50-year fight finally seemed set to finish in August when a deal was announced.
However, Colombians confounded predictions that they would vote yes in a referendum to support the deal. Shocked, but undaunted, President Juan Santos, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, went on to forge a new deal which this time dropped the requirement for a referendum and was approved by the Colombian congress. It is hoped both sides will stick to the agreement as the conflict has claimed the lives of nearly a quarter of a million people.
BREXIT SHOCK
SURPRISE referendum results brings us, of course, to the UK vote in June to leave the EU. Despite pundits and polls confidently predicting that voters would opt to Remain, the UK voted 52 per cent to 48 per cent to quit. The vote highlighted fundamental divisions within the UK, with Northern Ireland and Scotland voting to remain while England and Wales voted to leave.
David Cameron, who had agreed to the referendum in an attempt to pacify the anti-EU elements in his Tory Party and lessen the perceived threat of Ukip, was forced to step down as prime minister following the vote.
The ensuing Tory leadership contest saw the triumph of Theresa May, ostensibly a member of the Remain camp, whose mantra has since been: “Brexit means Brexit”.
Ukip’s Nigel Farage also stepped down as leader of his party and has since been seen cosying up to the president-elect of the US, Donald Trump.
CLINTON TRUMPED
WHICH brings us to the incredible victory for Trump in the US presidential elections. For those of a liberal persuasion, the whole process from his selection as Republican candidate to president-elect had something of a surreal, nightmarish quality, and Democrats in the US reacted with widespread protests.
It has since been claimed that the election was thrown by fake news bulletins on internet sites originating in Macedonia as well as Russian hacking of the emails belonging to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The CIA and FBI have both alleged that Russia acted to help elect Trump and current President Barack Obama has ordered an investigation into the claims.
Despite her defeat, it should be remembered that Clinton succeeded in winning a presidential nomination on a major party ticket – a milestone for women in US history.
PRESIDENTIAL SCANDALS
HOW Trump’s presidency will work out remains to be seen but if he wants to avoid the fate of the South Korean and Brazilian presidents this year he should attempt to steer clear any more scandals.
In South Korea, President Park Guen-hye was recently suspended over allegations that she had allowed an old friend to use the relationship to extort money from companies and influence government decisions.
The case is currently being investigated by the country’s constitutional court.
It is hard not to feel a tinge of sympathy for Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president.
It should have been her year of triumph as the country hosted the Olympics for the first time. Instead, even though she has not been implicated in the Petrobras oil scandal that has engulfed the country, she was sent packing in August over allegations she cooked the books to hide the country’s growing fiscal deficits.
VIRUS DANGER
BRAZIL and other Latin American countries were hit by the Zika virus which causes brain damage in unborn babies. It has since spread across the world, emerging as a global health threat.
Better news this year was that the number of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth has almost halved since 1990.
The World Health Organisation also said that global malaria deaths have dropped by 60 per cent since 2000. Other positive health news was that there are now no known cases of Ebola in West Africa after Liberia was given official clearance of the deadly tropical virus.
ALEPPO ANGUISH
IT has been labelled the “worst humanitarian catastrophe in a generation” but, despite widespread condemnation, the assault on the Syrian city claimed the lives of hundreds of innocents, many of them children.
The fall of Aleppo has not ended the civil war, however, as much of the eastern region of the country remains in opposition control. Even as government forces, aided by Russia, regained eastern Aleppo, Islamist extremists retook the historic city of Palmyra from Russian and Syrian troops.
The five-year war has claimed half a million people and forced 11 million from their homes.
At the same time as the siege of Aleppo, coalition forces attempted to retake Mosul in Iraq from Daesh fighters who seized the city two years ago. The fighters have been driven back but the battle continues amid much concern for civilians living in the city.
The coalition now has control of roughly one-third of Mosul.
TURKEY’S TROUBLES
TURKEY has also had a turbulent year with an attempted coup on July 15 which failed to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Since then, he has arrested or sacked more than 100,000 officials, closed media outlets and arrested Kurdish politicians he suspects of disloyalty. This month, the country was hit by two car bombings, allegedly carried out by Kurdish militants, which killed 38 people and injured 155.
TERRORIST ATTACKS
IN Brussels, 35 people were killed and more than 300 injured when two explosions struck a metro station and an airport, with Daesh claiming responsibility for the attack. Also in March, a suicide bomb in Lahore, Pakistan, killed at least 75 people and injured hundreds more, while on France’s Independence Day on July 14 a terrorist killed 87 people by driving a truck into crowds in Nice.
On December 19, a truck was driven into a Christmas market in Berlin killing at least a dozen people and injuring many more.
On the same day, the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was assassinated in Ankara, apparently in protest at his country’s involvement in Aleppo.
SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS
THE UK managed a record haul of medals at the Rio Olympics, Iceland reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, notably beating England, and Wales stunned Belgium to reach the semis. Leicester City won the English Premier League at odds of 5000-1 and Andy Murray not only won Wimbledon and made tennis history by collecting another Olympic gold medal, he also went on to become the world’s No 1-ranked player.
DEATH SURGE
DAVID Bowie, Harry Potter actor Alan Rickman, Eagles rocker Glenn Frey and Terry Wogan died in January, setting what seemed to be a trend in celebrity deaths. The year went on to claim Maurice White of Earth, Wind and Fire, novelist Harper Lee, Father Ted’s Frank Kelly, ELP’s Keith Emerson, comedians Ronnie Corbett and Victoria Wood, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Caroline Aherne, Gene Wilder, Arnold Palmer, Leonard Cohen, Andrew Sachs, Greg Lake, Ian McCaskill, Rick Parfitt, George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, to name just a few.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here